Elevating mechanism of heavy guns.



A. T. DAWSON & l. HORNE. ELEvATlNG MEcHANlsM oF HEAVY GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I3 |915 'Patented Aug. 6, 1918. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I .M nomas persas ca. pnamurno.. wAsmNamn. n. c.

A. T. DAWSON &1. HORNE.

ELEVATING MECHANISM 0F HEAVY GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED ram/13.1915.

1,274,518', PatentedAug. 6,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.ne nomas Pmsn no., www-urns., wuumamn, n c,

uni an sTnTns PATENT *Terrien ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, OF WESTMINSTER,LONDON, AND` JAMES HORNE, 0F

BARROW-IN-FURNESS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO VICKERS LIMITED, 0F WEST- MINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND.

ELEVATING MECHANISM 0F HEAVY GUNS.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that we, Sir ARTHUR TREvoR DAWSON, knight, and JAMES HORNE, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing, respectively, at Vickers House, Broadway, IVestminster, in the county vof London, England, and Naval Construction Works, Barrow-in-Furness, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to the Elevating Mechanism of Heavy Guns, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to elevating mechanism for heavy guns of the kind that are elevated and depressed by a hydraulic motor, such as a press, controlled by means of a valve adapted to be operated both by the elevating hand wheel or the like, and by a safety depression gear for preventing the gun `from being depressed into a position such that if fired it would cause damage to any part of the ship within the training arc of the turret and, in certain circumstances, for automatically elevating the gun froln the danger Zone.

According to this invention the control valve is mechanically connected both to the elevating hand wheel or the like and to the safety depression gear so that a more eficient control is obtained than is the case when hydraulic rams and valves are interposed between the control valve and the elevating hand wheel and also between the said valve and the safety depression gear.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect we will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing in a more or less diagrammatic manner a constructional forni of the invention, and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1.

A is the elevation press the ram of which is connected through a link a to the trunnion arm A of the gun. B is the control valve of the press A and C is the elevating hand wheel for operating the said valve.

In the example shown there is arranged around the turret a stationary cam rail D having as is well understood a contour conforming to the fittings or the like on the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A110'. 6, 1918.

Application filed May 13, 1915. Serial No. 27,961.'

deck within the training arc of the turret. The turret carries a vertically slidable meinber E (herein referred to asthe roller bar) which lies in contact with the cam rail and is adapted to operate, preferably through a bell crank lever e and a push rod e', upon a floating lever E which in turn is connected (for example by a link e2) to a piv-V oted arm E2 carried by a non-elevating portion of the mounting. This pivoted arm is adapted to be actuated when the gun is being depressed by a tappet a carried by the trunnion arm or by any other suitable part moving with the gun. The said floating lever is pivotally carried by a sliding rod or bar E3 (herein referred to as the plunger block).

The stem of the control valve B is connected by a bell crank lever B to a rotary spindle B2 which is slidably connected to a shaft C operated by the elevating hand wheel C. The said spindle is screw threaded tc carry a screw threaded sliding sleeve E4 which is adapted to receive movement, through a bell crank lever e3 for example, from the aforesaid plunger block E3. The said sleeve is controlled by a spring e4 which holds the bell crank lever e3 in contact with the plunger block.

In the event of the control valve B being moved by the elevating hand wheel to depress the gun when such depression would bring the gun into a dangerous position as aforesaid, the tappet a strikes the pivoted arm E2. The floating lever E is thus moved about the end of its lower arm thereby causing the plunger block E3 to displace the sleeve E4 against the resistance of its sprinor e4 and move the control valve to its cut 0E position owing to the screw threaded connection between the sleeve and the spindle B2 connected to the valve stem; depression of the gun into the danger position is thereby prevented. If the turret is then trained it may happen that the gun again reaches a dangerous position with regard to parts of the ship in which event the roller bar E is moved onto a higher portion of the cam rail D and the upward displacement of the roller bar causes the fioating lever E to be rocked about the point of connection of its upper arm with the aforesaid link e2 and the valve B to be shifted to elevate the gun until it is no longer in a dangerous position; after the roller bar Yhas been moved.

by the training of the turret out of Contact the aforesaid spring e4 controlling the sleeve E4, resume the position originallymgiven it by the elevating hand Wlieel'C 'and Will con-V tinus to be depressed until`Y arrested' at its depressonlimit.- Y

, What We claim and desire to secure bfy Letters Patent of the United States is 1.,]n` the elevating mechanism of ordnance, the CombinatiOnWitha pressure fluid elevating/motor, fthe control valve thereof, and theaotuating handlefof said valve,f-o;-a reciprooatory-member connected to :said

valve, mechaniealmea'ns positively-moving said member aXiallyfroml-said actuating handle f andy automatically operating safety depression y gear positivelyrmoving. said member axially to stop the-motor.

' "elevating-4 motor; lthe con-trol iva'lve4V lthereof, and "the li-otaryaetuatingfhadlefof said valve, foi*- a fpivotedf member fieonneoted to said valve, a screw threaded member connected" to" saidv pivoted member, a sliding Vmember Connected with said screw threaded "nuernber,V a? spring for Ycontrollingsaid slidfing'member, arotaryV member connected toV` Y said rotary actuating handle, means for slidably connecting vsaid rotary member vto` the screw threaded memberv and means v:for axiallydisplaeing said slidinp; member against its spring to prevent dangerouslepression of -the;'gun. Y

In-testimony whereof, We afliX our Vvsignatures.

ARTHUR Lrenvoie! DAWSON. JAMES HoRNE. Y 

